Fairy Tale
by Silverflare07
Summary: Alex Russo doesn't have many run of the mill problems, so it's not surprising that she doesn't have a run of the mill knight to save the day. A story in which Alex dreams and a piece of glass sees right through her. -hints of Jalex-


This is my second WoWP fic, but I got such awesome response for my first one that I had to write again. I'm trying this one from Alex's POV, instead of Justin's. I have to admit, I like writing in Justin's POV better, but I'm still pretty proud of it.

This fic was sort of inspired by the _Graphic Novel_ episode. Only to go as far as the fact that I now feel it's completely IC for Alex to be dreaming of a knight in a fairy tale kind of world. Also, the ending might not be as awesome if you don't catch a line in the fic, so pay close attention.

oOoOo

Alex Russo is sick, she must be. There is no other explanation. She has one of those head diseases and she hopes, hopes, hopes there's a cure. There has to be, or she doesn't know how she's going to survive the next few years. She just doesn't. This shouldn't even be a problem. Lots of girls dream of their knight in shinning armor coming to save the day (even if wasn't exactly on a horse). Most girls don't wait with baited breath as their knight pulls off his helmet, only to find themselves starring into the face of their older brother though.

But Alex does.

It's been happening for a week, these dreams, so like her old diary and yet entirely different. She never knows who is under the helmet until the very end, although she supposes the magic carpet he comes flying in on should give it away. But each morning she wakes up frowning, because these dreams feel off and she doesn't like it. She makes it until Friday before she breaks down and realizes that she has to tell someone, anyone, or she's really going to loose her mind (assuming, of course, that she hasn't already lost it). She can't tell her family, and even if she could, Justin is usually the one she goes to with her problems and she absolutely _cannot_ tell him this. Harper isn't an option either. She loves her best friend, and maybe if she was dreaming about Max she could tell her, but this is Justin they'd be talking about and she can't have a calm and rational discussion about Justin with Harper.

She's about an hour away from breaking down completely and just telling a stranger on the street (New York is full of tourists that she'll never see again), when she finds a much simpler solution literally staring her in the face. Her magic mirror.

It was a gift from her parents, before she'd told Harper about her magic. Her father had handed it to her and mentioned something about how he didn't want to know all the things Alex did with her magic. Alex had never actually gotten around to using it as anything more than a mirror, but it supposedly could talk and listen and it was just what Alex needed. So as she sits in front of it the next morning, braiding her hair, she says the magic words that bring the mirror to life.

Seconds later, she is staring into the face of someone who looks to be older than Justin, but younger than her parents. The image in the mirror smiles and Alex is a little creeped out. She's looking at a floating head, and even after all the things she's seen (she's turned people invisible for crying out loud!) this is slightly grotesque.

"Hi." She mutters, for lack of anything better to say.

"Hi!" The mirror sounds cheerful. "Would you like to talk?" It certainly doesn't beat around the bush, but then, it is a mirror, so why would it?

"Can you keep a secret?" The last thing Alex needs is this mirror blabbing to the first person that walks into her room, especially since Justin has a habit of looking in her room when his things go missing, whether she's in there or not.

"Well. . ." The mirror looks indecisive, like she's not sure what she should tell Alex. "Yes. Mostly."

Alex raises an eyebrow. "Mostly?"

The mirror nods. "Anything you tell me will stay between me and you unless you done something bad, like kill someone."

Alex considers this. "What if it just might kill someone's spirit?"

"Well," The mirror sounds considerably more cheerful. "Then I can keep a secret."

Alex isn't sure what to make of this, but she figures her secret is safe. And if it's not, she can always break the mirror. "I've been having. . .weird dreams."

The knot in her stomach clenches as the mirror nods (and mmhmms, like a damn psychiatrist, but didn't she think she might have a head disease?). She didn't realize how big this thing was going to feel until she was actually sitting in front of the mirror and getting ready to spill her secrets. But she's determined to go through with this, even if she feels sick the whole way through. She's so tired of waking up with a frown on her face that she's willing to try anything.

"And in these dreams I'm riding with my knight, who's come to save the day, obviously. But when he takes off his helmet, it's Justin. My brother."

"So?" Alex gets the distinct impression that the mirror would shrug if it had more than just head.

"So?" Alex's voice is raised with slight hysteria and she has to remind herself to be quiet. She's not alone in the house, and she doesn't need to draw any unnecessary attention to herself. "I'm having dreams about my brother and all you can say is _so_?"

The mirror sighs and Alex can almost feel herself bristle. She's bearing her soul to a piece of glass and it has the nerve to sound _exasperated_. "Let me ask you a question. Are most of your problems magical or normal?"

Alex shrugs, wondering where this was going. "Magical. I mean, I have normal teenager problems too, but they usually seem to pale in comparison to my magic problems."

The mirror nods. "And I'm guessing Dean, or whatever flavor of the week you have," (Alex is vaguely insulted. She and Dean have broken up, yes, but she doesn't have "flavors of the week.") "can't come rushing in to fix things, because it's magic."

Alex nods back. "That's true." She's beginning to see where the mirror is going with this, and thinks that maybe talking to the mirror isn't the worst thing she could have done.

"And who do you usually run to when you need help with your problems?

Alex mumbles her answer, because now that she's hearing it out loud it makes all the sense in the world and doesn't seem as awful as it probably should have been. "Justin."

The mirror smiles, and Alex is actually filled with relief. "So if you're brother is the one that teaches you how to fly a magic carpet, or bails you out of trouble at the art museum, or helps you keep your powers after a misplaced spell backfires, or even helps you keep a secret diary secret, is it really all that odd that the person who saves the day in your dreams is him too?" Alex raises her eyebrow and the mirror actually smirks at her. "Just because you weren't talking to me, doesn't mean I wasn't listening."

"Okay." Alex replies, as if this isn't the creepiest thing she's heard since Harper admitted to watching her brother sleep for over an hour. "But still, something feels, I dunno," She shrugs because she is so rarely at a loss for words that it's about all she can do. "off about all this dreams."

The mirror contemplates her problem for a moment before looking again like she really wishes she could shrug. "Maybe it's not what's already in the dream then. Maybe it's something that's missing from it."

Alex doesn't want to think about what the mirror is saying, doesn't want to think about all the things that could mean. But still, she feels compelled to ask. "What could possibly be missing?"

For someone that's just a head, the mirror seems to do a lot of shrugging. "It's _your_ dream, not mine. I think you have to figure that out."

Alex sighs and doesn't know why she didn't see that coming. Life is always like that. People will spell out the obvious things, but when she really doesn't want to think about it (because sometimes the answer is scarier than the question), people will always clam up. So instead of questioning it any further, Alex speaks the words that will shut the mirror off (put it to sleep, whatever it does) and goes downstairs to get breakfast.

She runs into Justin on the way and he bumps hips with her and smiles. Alex hears the voice of the mirror in her head and wonders again just what could be missing. Justin is dorky and can be overbearing sometimes and even though he doesn't live up to perfect by normal standards, he is perfect in his own _Justin_ way and Alex wouldn't change anything about him. So she goes to sleep that night ready for whatever she may dream about. It's not conventional, but Justin always, _always_ saves the day, and the mirror is right. It's not surprising

"_There you are my good lady." The knight helps Alex off the magic carpet, gentle hands guiding her to the ground, because princess wear is pretty, but it's definitely not practical. "Safe and sound where nothing will harm you."_

"_And don't I get to know the face of my savior?" It is not a question, but a request._

_The knight removes his helmet and Alex feels the swell of happiness rise in her chest._

_And, because this is a fairy tale, with castles and dragons and magic, the knight leans down to kiss his princess._

In her sleep, Alex Russo smiles.

oOoOo

Okay, there's my second fic. I hope you guys liked it. R&R and tell me what you think!


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